Passenger safety

I decided to provide you with information about the bus tour "Introduction to the Czech Republic", which was organized from January 2 to January 9, 2012 by the Russian tour operator "Victoria Voyage" (129090 Moscow, Olimpiyskiy pr-t, 16, bldg. 1, sub. 10. Tel.: 688-87-90, 688-42-22, fax: 688-57-45). This decision, on behalf of the parents of schoolchildren of gymnasium No. 3 in Vladimir, was dictated, among other things, by the recent tragic accident in Switzerland, in which schoolchildren from Belgium and Holland died.

I was part of a mixed group of tourists from the city of Vladimir, which, in addition to adults, included two groups of schoolchildren of the 5th and 11th grades of two Vladimir schools. The group leader from the tour operator is Victoria Afanasyeva (mobile phone: +7-916-042-77-12). The tour plan included transit through Poland to Prague and back, as well as trips to the Czech Republic.

So, for the transportation of our group from Brest to Prague and further according to the trip plan in the Czech Republic, the Polish company provided a bus with only one driver (MAN “Lion’s Coach” bus, number PKLMU67, the driver’s name and surname is Grzegorz Wyskvar). This is a gross violation of the rules for transporting passengers over long distances. An intelligible answer on this matter was received neither from Ms. Afanasyeva nor from the driver.

They also refused to give us the name of the Polish trucking company. Moreover, the driver did not speak either Russian or English (or pretended not to). How the leader of the group communicated with him remained a mystery. The bus was not equipped with any means of navigation, the toilet and equipment for heating water and food did not function.

As it turned out later, the driver did not know the route of the trip. As a result, moving from the Polish-Belarusian border to the city of

Cheszyn in Poland (total distance - about 590 km), where the group was accommodated for the night at the Gambit Hotel, was more than 11 hours. Moreover, traffic was carried out not along the main highways, but along secondary roads, with 15-minute stops every 4 hours at small gas stations to simulate a change of drivers. We also got the impression that the driver deliberately chose secondary roads to avoid toll sections of roads in order to save money. For about an hour, the bus circled the small Cheshyn in search of the right hotel.

Moving from Czeszyn to the area of ​​Blansko (total distance - about 240 km) for an excursion to Punkevni caves (Moravski Kras) was almost 5 hours, the subsequent transfer to Prague (distance a little more than 220 km) was another 5 hours, as a result, the group was late for sightseeing tour. Towards the end, the driver circled Prague for another 3 hours in search of the Fortuna Luna Hotel, where the group was to be permanently accommodated.

Moreover, it got to the point that both the driver and the leader of the group alternately jumped out of the bus and asked passers-by for directions!!! If not for the navigator of one of our tourists, the hotel would not have been found, probably.

A trip on an excursion from Prague to Karlovy Vary (distance about 140 km) took more than 5 hours one way (for 2 hours the driver was looking for the right way to leave, but again the personal navigator of one of the tourists helped).

Part of the group refused to go on an excursion to Kutná Hora, because no longer had the strength to endure this uniform mockery.

The return trip from Prague to Wroclaw, Poland (distance - about 270 km), where the group spent the night at the Slask Hotel, took more than 8 hours. Moreover, dinner was not provided at the Slask Hotel due to the strike of the attendants. And the journey from Wroclaw to the border with Belarus (distance - about 540 km) generally took about 13 hours!!!

This is the "quality" service provided by the company "Victoria Voyage" and its Polish partners!

Most of all, in this situation, it was a pity for the children who had breakfast at 7 am and had dinner at 21-21.30. It was extremely difficult to feed them additionally because of the constant presence on the bus due to the fault of the driver and the leader of the group, which generally withdrew itself from solving the problems that arose.

It is obvious that the life and health of more than 50 people were at direct risk of getting into an accident. And all because the Victoria Voyage company and its Polish partners decided to make additional profit by saving on safety when transporting tourists. Nothing else can explain it!

Alexander Gurylev

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